help need to know what this trailer is

[2.8broncoII]

hey guys what kind of axle set up is this on this trailer. it needs to be fixed but i dont know what it is so i cant go get parts its a single axle with beams on the side that have 2 hubs on them.

 

[Will]

I see those on heavy drawbar trailer behind dumptrucks pulling backhoes. The usually have a set of spindles on the inside too. I haven't seen it on that small of a trailer and with only outside spindles. It has car tires on it so the spindle is going to have standard bearings. What parts do you need?

 

[98 ranger xlt]

That called a tandem axle i believe.

 

[2.8broncoII]

where the single axle goes in to the beam the bearings must be worn out because the beams are toed out like this / not stright like this I. idk how else to explain it. the wheels are cocked in at the top tward the trailer. if you look close between the tires you can see that the bearings are so bad that the guy who had it before me chained it so it wouldnt come off or something. the bearings are shot.

 

[short bus]

The best thing to do is just try and get the old bearing out and take it to your local auto shop and try to match it up. I have done that a few times once was an old trl that nobody knew what it was .
Good luck .

 

[2.8broncoII]

yeah thats not a bad idea. theres not a place around here except tsc maybe that would know about this trailer.

 

[short bus]

The best place is a farm suply place or trl company but you can also just mesure the bearing when you get it out and call around to see who has one.

 

[2.8broncoII]

yeah that should work i just hope the bearings are the only problem idk what im getting myself into but the trailer was free so i guess i can dump some money

 

[short bus]

Yeah you cant beat free.

 

[Will]

That called a tandem axle i believe.

It's called a walking beam axle. The center bearing is beat because there isn't really a suspension on it. It's meant to go over rough terrain more than cushion a high-speed ride. It's probably made out of a farm wagon or something. I would convert it to a sprung suspension if I were going to keep it.

 

[2.8broncoII]

yeah i went down to a trailer place by me today and they didnt believe me that there werent any springs under it. they said to bring it there and that there werent any bearings inside the beams just bushings. sounds wierd but i guess ill take it down there and see what they say.

 

[Will]

Looks like a bushing to me. Doesn't matter, it's still not a road trailer because it's unsprung. When I was towing howitzers which are also unsprung we used to blow up tires with regularity at high speeds. You wach the tire go up in the air in the mirror and wince because there is no suspension to absorb the blow. Pick up your trailer even 6" and drop it and there's going to be a good impact on the tires and the frame and on whatever you are hauling. When it goes up it will leave one tire on the ground and the other floats in the air. When it comes back down it's going to slam down when the tire lands. That's why that bushing is shot. It's meant to be slow speed. It got hammered when they decided it was a road trailer. It's going to kill lights and decking and everything else unless you are just using it around town. They are great offroad though. My friend has a quad trailer like that and it goes over logs through the woods easily.

If the bearings are standard size you should be able to get a pair of torsion axles for $500. I also see that thing has hydraulic brakes--at least it would if you put lines in it. So if those are any good still you need a coupler/actuator--which is a coupler with a master cylinder built into it.

 

[2.8broncoII]

im not worried about the brakes on the trailer now i just want it to be towable on the highway. if i have to put new axles under it then idk if im going to keep it.